Man freed from Maryland prison after 27 years

Maryland General Assembly considers a bill to end life sentences for juveniles

A bill that would end life sentences in prison for juveniles is making its way through the Maryland House and Senate.

WASHINGTON - A man who was the focus of a 2018 documentary created by Georgetown University students was freed from a Maryland prison after 27 years.

Kenneth Bond was released from Jessup Correctional Institution on Feb. 9 after a Baltimore City Circuit Court judge approved a motion reducing his sentence under Maryland’s Juvenile Restoration Act.

Bond had been incarcerated for over 27 years after he was sentenced to life plus 60 years at 16 years old. He was convicted of murder in the 1995 death of Terrence Augusta McKoy, a Morgan State freshman, who was shot at a bus stop in Northeast Baltimore.

Students in Georgetown University's "Making an Exoneree" course focused on Bond in 2018, creating a documentary and website examining the evidence in Bond's case.

Bond has not been exonerated, but his sentence was shortened through the JRA, which was enacted in 2021 to allow people convicted as juveniles who have served at least 20 years to have their sentences reduced.

"After looking into his case, I believed in his innocence and I believed in him. And while we’re still hoping to clear his name, I’m overjoyed that Kenneth is finally home where he belongs," said Marc Howard, director of Georgetown University's Prisons and Justice Initiative.